Cinema from South of the Border--The Instituto Cervantes at the National Hispanic Cultural Center will present a feature from Argentina as part of its Cine en Construcción film series on Thursday, Oct. 26. The film’s director, Ana Katz, was recently named a winner of the “Cine en Construcción” prize at the Festival International del Cine de Donostia-San Sabastián in Spain. The film, El Juego de la Silla, deals with the return home to Argentina of Victor, who has spent several years in Canada. To make up for lost time, he organizes a series of gatherings and family rituals. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. Following the film, a discussion will be held with Nicolás Tacconi, one of the stars of the film, and with Dr. Luisela Alvaray, a visiting professor at UNM. The screening will begin at 7 p.m. in the NHCC’s Wells Fargo Auditorium (located at 1701 Fourth Street NW). Admission is free and open to the public.

Frightening new DVDs to spook up your Halloween

By Devin D. O’Leary

Halloween is here, and nothing sets the mood better than a good horror movie--except maybe a bad horror movie. Frankly, I’m good with either this time of year. If you’re looking for something to watch this holiday while digesting all of those Tootsie Rolls, Smarties and mini Snickers bars, here are a few suggestions. These recently released box sets might be just the thing to stir up childhood memories of Halloweens past--no matter what decade you grew up in.

New Age prophet delivers God’s greatest hits in bite-sized nuggets

By Devin D. O’Leary

As I understand it, Neale Donald Walsch got into an auto accident, broke his neck, lost his job, became homeless for a while, got a job at a radio station and started talking to God. In that order. In their numerous confabs, God told Neale that he needed to take up writing. According to Mr. Walsch, God commanded him (well, asked politely, anyway) to write three books. Those books made so much money that God apparently returned later to amend his original commandment, adding six sequels and countless spin-off products (Conversations with God: A Windham Hill Collection on CD, anyone?).

Halloween around the dial

By Devin D. O’Leary

Halloween falls this year on a Tuesday night. By the time it rolls around, you’ll have dressed up, partied, hung out at clubs and visited all the haunted houses/corn mazes/pumpkin chunking events you can handle. Odds are your Halloween night will be spent parked in front of the TV searching desperately for some holiday entertainment and waiting in vain for the trick-or-treaters to show up so you won’t have to spend the next two weeks choking down that entire five-pound bag full of Tootsie Roll Midges you bought at Wal-Mart. Here, then, is how I see your Halloween night going down.